Multisentis

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Multisentis
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Acanthocephala
Class: Archiacanthocephala
Order: Oligacanthorhynchida
Family: Oligacanthorhynchidae
Genus: Multisentis
Smales, 1997[1]
Species:
M. myrmecobius
Binomial name
Multisentis myrmecobius
Smales, 1997[1]

Multisentis is a monotypic genus of acanthocephalans (thorny-headed or spiny-headed parasitic worms). It contains a single species, Multisentis myrmecobius , parasite of the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus) from which it derives it's species name. It was found in south-western Australia.[1]

Taxonomy

Description

Multisentis consist of a proboscis covered in hooks and a trunk.

Distribution

The distribution of M. myrmecobius is determined by that of its hosts. M. myrmecobius has been found in south-western Australia.[1]

Hosts

Diagram of the life cycle of Acanthocephala
Life cycle of Acanthocephala.[2][a]

The life cycle of an acanthocephalan consists of three stages beginning when an infective acanthor (development of an egg) is released from the intestines of the

mesenteron or the intestine of the intermediate host and growing. The final stage is the infective cystacanth which is the larval or juvenile state of an Acanthocephalan, differing from the adult only in size and stage of sexual development. The cystacanths within the intermediate hosts are consumed by the definitive host, usually attaching to the walls of the intestines, and as adults they reproduce sexually in the intestines. The acanthor are passed in the feces of the definitive host and the cycle repeats. There are no known paratenic hosts (hosts where parasites infest but do not undergo larval development or sexual reproduction) for Multisentis.[4]

Multisentis myrmecobius has been found parasitizing the numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus).[1] There are no reported cases of M. myrmecobius infesting humans in the English language medical literature.[3]

A numbat walking on sand
The numbat is a host of M. myrmecobius

Notes

  1. ^ There are no known aberrant human infections for M. myrmecobius species.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Smales Lesley R. (1997) Multisentis myrmecobius, gen. et. sp. nov. (Acanthocephala: Oligacanthorhynchidae), from the Numbat, Myrmecobius fasciatus, and a Key to Genera of the Oligacanthorhynchidae. Invertebrate Systematics 11, 301-307. https://doi.org/10.1071/IT95023
  2. Center for Disease Control. Archived
    from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  3. ^
    PMID 34076470
    .
  4. ^ Schmidt, G.D. (1985). "Development and life cycles". In Crompton, D.W.T.; Nickol, B.B. (eds.). Biology of the Acanthocephala (PDF). Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press. pp. 273–305. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
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